In gambling language, for a gambling house a “sure-thing” is a wager that a player has little chance of winning; “easy money” is their profit from an inexperienced bettor, an unlucky player is called a “stiff.”

In 1965, CEOs earned on average 44 times more than factory workers. In 1998, CEOs earned on average 326 times more than factory workers and in 1999, they earned 419 times more than factory workers.

Tourism is the world’s biggest industry, affecting 240 million jobs.

The term “Blue Chip” comes from the colour of the poker chip with the highest value, blue.

The world’s largest coins, in size and standard value, were copper plates used in Alaska around 1850. They were about a metre (3 ft) long, half-a-metre (about 2 ft) wide, weighed 40 kg (90 lb), and were worth $2,500.

In 2000, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is the second wealthiest woman, with $5,2 billion.

Australians are the heaviest gamblers in the world; an estimated 82% of Australians bet. That is twice as much per capita as Europeans or Americans. Yet, Australia, with less than 1% of the world population, has 20% of the world’s poker machines.

A third of the world’s people live on less than $2 a day, with 1,2 billion people living on less than $1 a day.

In the 1400s, global income rose only 0,1% per year; today it often tops 5%.